


Feelings that Grow to the Rhythm of the Dawn

by AerithFaremis



Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: ClerithWeek2020, F/M, I'm Coming For You
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:01:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26283100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AerithFaremis/pseuds/AerithFaremis
Summary: Cloud decides to fight for a smile, to protect it until the end.[Clerith Week 2020 - Day 5 - Prompt: I'm Coming For You]
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Kudos: 27





	Feelings that Grow to the Rhythm of the Dawn

**CLERITH WEEK DAY 5 (09/4)**

**Prompt: _I’m Coming for You_**

****

**-Feelings that Grow to the Rhythm of the Dawn-**

When Cloud opened his eyes, it was already dawn in Sector 5, with the first rays of sunrise, orange and lilac, illuminating the guest room where he had spent the night for the second time. Although on this occasion, the awakening brought with it a very different sensation from the previous one.

_"I'm coming for you"_. These were the words he had said to Aerith in that kind of dream before she vanished completely in front of his eyes. More than words, they were a firm promise, an oath that he would carry out whatever it took. He didn't care if he had to destroy the entire Shin-Ra Company, Midgar or the whole world if it meant getting the flower girl's smile back.

His soul was a whirlwind of emotions in those early morning hours and his heart was beating faster than ever. The truth was there, in front of him, and it had awakened with the sole purpose of making him open his eyes and stop hiding what was evident. His desperation and his need to find Aerith, to know that she was safe, to know that no one had erased that smile - which he so secretly loved to admire - that no one had taken away the glow in her green eyes, had a much deeper and more emotional meaning now that he had been brave enough to admit it.

Maybe he hadn't said it directly or in the right words. But he felt it in his soul and in the depths of his being. He felt _her call_ , and he also felt the irrepressible impulse of the melancholy feeling running through him from head to toe. Something in his mind told him, _this has happened before, but this time you will fight for it_. Something deep in his soul was trying to rip off the chains of silence and was trying to be heard as it spat in his face that _you love Aerith, so you're fighting for her_.

Until now, Cloud had followed in the footsteps of others. A mercenary who followed orders and ran errands that were asked of him and who didn't think much about the tasks he had in mind, he just did them without asking himself why. _What's done is done_ ; he had even gone so far as to say. But now he didn't want to keep delaying decisions, he didn't want to keep waiting another day. He didn't want to be silent, to stand by while he asked for permission to think or feel.

He remembered Barret and the anger he professed when he thought he had lost his little Marlene. That rage, that tiring pain that ran through him, was his motivation to fight, to keep walking in life, to understand himself, to not rest until he protected the one he loved, without asking anyone's permission, which was at the same time overwhelming and devastating, because it was his inner strength.

Cloud had also had one person taken away and had had it shoved in his face. He too had come to a strong resolution, he too was moved by the fear of losing someone he had come to love so deeply in such a short time, but she had become a reason to understand himself, to ask questions, to wonder about the world's attitudes and his own. _She was his motivation to fight._ To preserve that smile, the secrets and the silent struggle that Aerith showed she was living under that mask of everlasting happiness. He wanted to know more, he wanted to understand more about her and give her back the freedom that a person like her deserved and needed.

He stood up and hung his sword on his back.

"I'm coming for you, Aerith. No matter how hard it is, I will not fail you."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading :D


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